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A University of Jordan (UJ) student was shot in the leg on Sunday by another young man while a group of students were playing in the snow on campus.

At around 1:00pm, students were having a snowball fight near the Faculty of Business when the incident occurred.

While playing, a young man surprised the others by saying: “If you throw snow at me, I will throw bullets at you,” an informed source told The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity.

Students did not panic at first because they thought he was kidding, but what started as a joke turned out to be real. The young man, allegedly from another university, took out a gun and started shooting, the source added.

The man fired twice into the air, then shot a third round, which hit the ground and ricocheted, penetrating the leg of Ismail, a 23-year-old UJ student from the Sharia Faculty. The shooter then fled the scene, according to the source.

Later in the day, police confirmed that the perpetrator was in custody at the Dahiyat Rashid precinct, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Following the incident, the victim’s relatives stormed the university and began vandalising property but were quickly stopped by UJ security, according to eyewitnesses.

In a telephone interview, UJ acting President Bashir Zu’bi said Ismail was receiving treatment at the UJ Hospital, stressing that his injury was not critical.

“We condemn the incident and we cannot allow such incidents to reoccur at the university,” he said.

Zu’bi Al Zu’bi, chairman of the UJ Business Management Department, said the incident was unprecedented and alarming.

“It is very strange, just the thought of someone walking into university with a gun. This is really scary,” he said, stressing the importance of raising public awareness, changing the mindset of young people about holding weapons, and teaching them that firearms are inherently dangerous.

“There is a need for real action and practical steps to tackle this phenomenon,” he added.

“A gun in his hands at this age — where is security and inspection?” a Jordanian mother lamented. “Shooting and guns are common here. We shoot at weddings and everywhere,” she criticised.